WXYZ Bar @ Aloft Lounge

I have had the pleasure of spending a couple of evenings at WXYZ bar @ Aloft Lounge since I moved to Bangkok, most of the time being for a friends birthday event. Situated on the well-known expat road of Sukhumvit Soi 11, it is the perfect spot to have a good night out with friends after a long week. I think this has a lot to do with the drinks special that takes place every Friday and Saturday night which seems almost too good to be true: Unlimited cocktails, beers and shots from 9pm to 12am for the bargain price of 600 Baht per person.

The entrance to WXYZ bar

Thai street food favorites

When you visit Thailand, or live here like I do, you will certainly find yourself eating most kinds of Thai street food available on every corner (literally anywhere you go). After my various experiences with street food in Bangkok, I thought I would share with you my favorites, as well as some tips to remember. Don't be nervous about ordering street food and only eat western style food when you are in Thailand, it would be such an opportunity missed.

There are also many fancy Thai restaurants that offer a selection of authentic foods, but I find that you are then paying double the price for a meal that could be cooked more authentically right on the streets like the locals have it. The language barrier makes ordering food a slight challenge but just pointing to things and hoping for the best often works! Here are the Thai names and descriptions to help you out a bit. Street food is the best!

Papaya Salad (somtam thai)

Papaya salad is possibly my favorite of all the street foods! It is crispy and fresh, with the main ingredients of unripened papaya, carrots, sprouts and peanuts. Added to the mix is flavors such as garlic, palm sugar and fresh chilli (be sure to ask for 'mai pet' if you're not into too much spice). It is great for a lunch time meal with sticky marinated chicken (gai yang) added to it. You will be able to spot a somtam stand by the big piles of shredded papaya in the glass window. Make sure to specifically ask for somtam 'Thai' if you're not a fan of tiny dehydrated baby shrimp being thrown into the mix (they're kind of off-putting).

A day in the life of an English teacher: BKK

I honestly have the most rewarding job as an English kindergarten teacher, and I live in the huge unpredictable city of Bangkok, Thailand. I thought I would share my typical week day in this wonderful place I call home (for now).

Its such a great feeling to wake up in the morning and not have to drag myself out of bed after hitting the snooze alarm 3 times. I splash some cold water on my face, put on my uniform of black pants and a polo shirt (a different colour for every day of the week) and do my hair and make up. In Thailand the way you present yourself is very important in terms of how others see you. Its more about the fact that you look after yourself than pure vanity, so I put a little more effort into my appearance. In the same way, the Thai teachers that I work with are some of the kindest and most genuine people I have ever met, and we are constantly laughing and joking around with each other.

Teacher A and I taking a selfie

Two foreigners walk into a barber in Bangkok

The title may sound like the beginning of a bad joke (and this post could very well be) but I just had to share our experience whilst trying to find a barber to cut Trav's hair and trim his beard in Bangkok (Trav had not had his hair cut since we left South Africa). Needless to say it was no easy feat to find a barber in a city where very few Thai men have beards, and very few barbers speak English.

The Radisson Blu: 27 Bites buffet

The beauty of living in a diverse city like Bangkok is that you can go from sitting on a plastic chair eating a noodle bowl at a local market to dining at a 5 star restaurant. As much as I love Thai street food, every now and then you just need a treat. Since it was mine and Trav's anniversary on the weekend, we decided to book a Sunday all-you-can-eat lunch at the hotel restaurant 27 Bites at The Radisson Blu. It.was.unbelievable.

Getting around Bangkok: Public transport at it's best

Of all the places in the world Bangkok must surely be the most convenient in terms of mass public transport. I sold my car back home in South Africa, and in exchange I have used possibly every means of transport that exists whilst living in Thailand. If you want to go anywhere, at any given moment in time, for whatever fee you are willing to pay, it is most certainly possible here. From cheapest to most expensive, here are the public transport options available to you in 'The Big Mango'.

Hobbyist Cafe

In a city where you are spoilt for choice when it comes to dining out, every so often I come across a hidden gem that makes me want to keep going back. A friend took me for coffee today at the Hobbyist Cafe, which is on her side of the BKK hood in Saphan Taksin. The whole area is a tourist hub due to the main pier of the Chao Phraya River being situated there, so it really caters to every need. This cool coffee shop is no exception!

The front entrance

Cabbages and Condoms

When I first heard the name of the restaurant 'Cabbages and Condoms' I thought there had to be some mistake... condom what? You can eat at this place? I know I am not the first person to think how interesting (and inedible) it may sound, but its an even better excuse to check it out yourself!

To give a little background to the restaurant before I talk about the experience, the whole concept is to promote health education and prevent transmitted diseases and unwanted pregnancies. This is a serious problem in Thailand and the world over, and I think its a fun way to bring light to these important issues. The signs leading up to the entrance of Cabbages and Condoms are downright hilarious. Happy waving condoms show you the way down the street, and may I just say this was entertainment in itself...

The enthusiastic condom shows the way

When life takes over

I had this idea that once I had moved halfway across the world to Bangkok, I would be immensely inspired by everything around me and therefore have a constant flow of moments and events to discuss in detail on my blog. The truth is that I am inspired by this city in so many overwhelming ways that I seldom find the words to explain the experiences that I am going through. I like to think of it as having all the words and emotions in a bowl of alphabet soup, but not being able to digest them into sentences. Does that make sense at all or does it sound like a super weird bio lesson?

Other than being overwhelmed and speechless at the best of times, I am also busier than I have ever been. I used writing as a mechanism of escaping my somewhat vanilla life back home, and I am now on this whirlwind adventure, along with a teaching job that keeps me occupied anytime in-between. Sometimes I will look at my phone and I haven't even had the time to reply to a simple text message. Sitting quietly with my laptop and my thoughts is a difficult feat when there is so much going on around me.

So here comes the point of this blog post-life takes over sometimes. I place certain interests and hobbies in a list of priorities and often they slip to the bottom of that list when I have too much on my plate. Living in a foreign country is a challenge and an adventure, and after a few months I finally have the urge to find the time to write again! So for all the sweet strangers and friends and family members out there that are reading this (Hi Mom), I have returned from hibernation and I will be writing a whole lot about a whole lot from now on. x

Expat life in BKK

What is it really like for an expat living in Bangkok? Well let me just say it is not easy to begin with, but it is a lifestyle I wouldn't be able to afford back in South Africa that is for sure. When I decided to  move to a foreign country I had to realise that I was not just here to visit for a few days, I needed to find an apartment and settle in. This whole process of making bkk my home was unexpectedly easy in some ways and equally frustrating in others. What I did have to accept straight off the bat was that my life back in South Africa could in no way be replicated in great big Bangkok (as much as I tried).

The Park Terrace

When I first arrived in Bangkok, the hotel my boyfriend and I stayed at was very conveniently situated on a road full of nightlife, markets and massage parlours (some PG13 and some not so much). Each night would be this fun adventure as to where we should go for dinner and drinks, and in the week that we stayed there we found ourselves going back to the same place on the main road- The Park Terrace.

Lumphini Park

Lumphini Park was one of the must-see places in Bangkok that I heard a lot about before arriving, and I was quite excited to spend the day there and see what it was like for myself. Other than choosing one of the hottest days I have experienced in BKK so far (sweat is a given when you live here), it really was all I hoped it would be. I have never been to New York but Lumphini Park seems like a smaller version, with that crazy contrast between the city skyscrapers and the rare greenness of the park.

Chatuchak- the market of all markets

I love a good market, ask anyone who knows me. Was I prepared for Chatuchak market when we arrived? The answer is no... no I was not. Let me tell you the basic stats first before I go into detail. The Chatuchak Weekend Market (or Jatujak as known by the locals) is arguably the biggest market in the world, with approximately 15000 stalls and shops covering over 27 acres of land. Yes I know, its unbelievable. Don't go with an empty purse!!

Bangkok Lessons

Hello Everyone! I apologise for being absent for just over two weeks (it feels like months), but a lot has happened in such a short space of time that having time for blogging my thoughts just hasn't been an option until now.

As I have mentioned before, Travis and I have moved to Bangkok in Thailand to teach English. I have decided that because my life has changed so drastically since living in a foreign country, so should my blog. I am still going to keep consistent with the different topics I like to discuss, but there will obviously be a whole lot of Thailand experiences coming your way. I have only been living in Bangkok for a short while and it feels like I have so much so say, but I also won't be one of those people that breaks down every moment and emotion of the day, I promise!

In the time I have been here my brain has been overloaded with information to the point where I feel physically exhausted. It's amazing how completely different one culture and environment can be from another. These are some of the important lessons Bangkok has taught me in just a few weeks-some more forcefully than others let me tell you...

7 Things I hate about long flights

I doubt there is anyone in the world that enjoys being cramped up in an airplane on a long haul flight for 10 hours (or more). Since I have a super loooong flight from Johannesburg to Bangkok in less than 2 weeks, I thought I would share my deep loathing of such. Lets just leave the 'I should feel fortunate to be able to fly to another country, and I am very lucky' argument. I am aware of this but it sucks okay! It has to be done.

Bangkok: The Countdown

There are less than 3 weeks left before I depart for Bangkok, Thailand to start teaching English, and I can't explain to you how much is going on in my head right now. It has got to the point where all other forms of inspiration and creativity have evaporated from my brain (including my sense of humour if I'm honest). I am a nightmare to be around lately, and I apologise in advance to family, friends and strangers (the man at the post office on Tuesday) that have been caught in the thunderstorm mood-swing that is Sarah. I feel the necessity to share what is going on in this head of mine in the hopes that it won't explode. It's not pretty...

Image from vegatravelbangkok.com

When I'm gone

As some of you may know, I have only 2 months left in South Africa before I leave to teach English in Thailand, and thereafter travel around Asia as I have always wanted. Having this brief time left with my family and friends has really made me think about my priorities, and how they could inevitably change while I am in a foreign and unfamiliar country.

I didn't write out a list of resolutions for the new year as most do, its not really my style. I thought I would instead make a list of priorities to remind myself of whilst I am in Thailand.